Opinion About Bumper Sizes

[composite]

Not sure what to post this, but I was thinking about going with a classic 10/25/45 (or similar) set of bumpers, similar to what you might find for iron. But now I am thinking, why do that? Why not take advantage of the fact that 25's are the correct diameter for bumpers, unlike for iron plates. Why not just get a bunch of 25 bumpers and fill the rest in with iron?

Advantages
-----------

- I can stack all the plates (tight area) and don't have to sift through them to get to desired value. I won't need multiple piles either and no good place for that.
- 45 bumpers are little more difficult to handle for me since they don't have an offset to grip like an iron does. I can easily hold a 45 iron in one hand, not so for a 45 bumper. But a 25 bumper is easier to deal with.
- Easier to add up the values 25, 50, 75, 100...etc
- Should be easier to go through warm up sets since the increments are smaller.
- A bit easier to load the first set of plates for deadlift.

Disadvantages
------------

- Increased cost
- More bumpers
- Slightly less space on collar, which limits max weight. Not a problem anytime soon for me though. And when I get there, I will just add some iron to compensate.
- 25 bumpers may be less resistant to be drops than 45s. Getting them from FringeSport though and they are supposed to be pretty robust.

Overall, it seems like going with just a bunch of 25lb bumpers is the best option in my case. Is there anything else I should consider or that I may be missing?

Thanks.

[Adam Skillin]

Not sure what to post this, but I was thinking about going with a classic 10/25/45 (or similar) set of bumpers, similar to what you might find for iron. But now I am thinking, why do that? Why not take advantage of the fact that 25's are the correct diameter for bumpers, unlike for iron plates. Why not just get a bunch of 25 bumpers and fill the rest in with iron?

Advantages
-----------

- I can stack all the plates (tight area) and don't have to sift through them to get to desired value. I won't need multiple piles either and no good place for that.
- 45 bumpers are little more difficult to handle for me since they don't have an offset to grip like an iron does. I can easily hold a 45 iron in one hand, not so for a 45 bumper. But a 25 bumper is easier to deal with.
- Easier to add up the values 25, 50, 75, 100...etc
- Should be easier to go through warm up sets since the increments are smaller.
- A bit easier to load the first set of plates for deadlift.

Disadvantages
------------

- Increased cost
- More bumpers
- Slightly less space on collar, which limits max weight. Not a problem anytime soon for me though. And when I get there, I will just add some iron to compensate.
- 25 bumpers may be less resistant to be drops than 45s. Getting them from FringeSport though and they are supposed to be pretty robust.

Overall, it seems like going with just a bunch of 25lb bumpers is the best option in my case. Is there anything else I should consider or that I may be missing?

Thanks.

Once you're deadlifting a slightly heavier amount of weight, you'll need to load an unacceptable iron:rubber ratio and will ruin the 25's. Get 55's. I love my 55's. You can load a lot of iron with a couple 55's and make enough heavies for a little feller like me.

[composite]

There really isn't that much of a difference between the 25 and 45 as far as lb/in of collar. I figure I get (8) 25lb bumper plates on there for a total of 445lb. I don't think that is happening anytime soon (if ever). And if I do get to those numbers, I eek a bit more with iron without a problem. And if I get past that, I can get some competition bumpers that are a bit thinner. Pretty sure I can get to ~500-550 with a setup like that. Those are numbers I don't know that I will ever achieve on the opposite side of 40 yrs old.

[Adam Skillin]

There really isn't that much of a difference between the 25 and 45 as far as lb/in of collar. I figure I get (8) 25lb bumper plates on there for a total of 445lb. I don't think that is happening anytime soon (if ever). And if I do get to those numbers, I eek a bit more with iron without a problem. And if I get past that, I can get some competition bumpers that are a bit thinner. Pretty sure I can get to ~500-550 with a setup like that. Those are numbers I don't know that I will ever achieve on the opposite side of 40 yrs old.

What kind of bumpers are you buying? Rogue HG 25's are 2 5/8" wide each, for instance. 8 of those would make 21". The sleeves on a men's barbell are just over 15", right?

[nated1]

For what it's worth, I went with 15/25/45/45/plan to add 45's as needed. I use steel 1.25/2.5/5/10 as needed. Did 15 lbs bumpers to be slightly more durable than 10s, in theory. Who knows. I'm pretty gentle with the 15's when they're the only thing on the bar. I'm a deadlift lightweight, but in theory one day adding steel plate to deadlift if sleeve length vs amount you can load would be the solution.

Anyhow, all 25s would annoy me because:
- nearly double the number of plates to load
- screws up 'barbell math' which I've become relatively good with, especially if you work out in a few diff locations (like I do when I travel for business). I.e. Thinking in increments with 45's

[hbriem]

Go metric.

[Adam Skillin]

Go metric.

Okay, I will. OP - A barbell sleeve is 451 mm. The 25 lb bumpers, to use the Rogue HG example, are 73.025 mm each. 8 x 73.025 = 584.2.

You can't fit 25's on the bar unless you're buying competition bumpers in the first place. Then a 25-lber is more like 31.75 mm, so 8 would only take up 254 mm or so.

[Rob Israel]

My feeling is you need one set of 45 bumpers and one set of 25's (to warm-up up the Power clean) and that's it. Preferably you'd then get all iron that is slightly smaller than the bumpers so you can load the bar more easily.

I like small iron 25's for loading Deads. I go 135, 185, 225, 275, 315, 365 for warm-up. Start with two bumpers and then alternate the swapping out and adding the 25's and 45's.

I like 45's just because that's how i learned bar math.

[composite]

I am getting them from FringeSport.com. The 25lb is 1.87" so that is how I came up with that math. The FringeSport seem to get good reviews:

http://www.fringesport.com/collectio...per-plate-sets
http://www.garage-gyms.com/bumper-pl...cting-bumpers/

After playing around with the bumpers, I think I am just going to go with all 25's. Every situation is unique and here is my reasoning:

- Getting enough on the bar is not likely to be a problem. And if it ever comes to that, I will be so excited about my progress that I will buy a new set of stuff to accommodate those levels.
- I have such limited space (urban loft) and I can just stack the the 25's. I don't have room for plate holders.
- The 25's are just easier to work with, especially in a confined space and where I have to be aware of noise/dropping plates/etc. I live on the 4th floor with concrete floors. Its just a challenge all around.

That said, if I had more space, some decent storage, and didn't have to worry about noise when putting plates downs, a more standard set with 45's would be better. I can't any real bad disadvantage with going all 25's in my case.